4.5 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

When three men announce that they are suing the Rosato & DiNunzio law firm for reverse sex discrimination—claiming that they were not hired because they were men—Mary DiNunzio and Bennie Rosato are outraged. To make matters worse, their one male employee, John Foxman, intends to resign, claiming that there is some truth to this case.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer is Nick Machiavelli, who has already lost to Mary once and is now back with a vengeance —determined not to not only win, but destroy the firm. It soon becomes clear that Machiavelli will do anything in his power to achieve his end…even after the case turns deadly. The stakes have never been higher for Mary and her associates as they try to keep Machiavelli at bay, solve a murder, and save the law firm they love…or they could lose everything they’ve worked for. Told with Scottoline’s trademark gift for twists, turns, heart, and humanity, this latest thriller asks the question: Is it better to be loved, or feared…

Feared, the sixth entry in the acclaimed Rosato & DiNunzio series, expertly explores what happens when we are tempted to give in to our own inner darkness.

My Review:

Lisa Scottoline’s Rosato & DiNunzio series is one of my favorites although I love all of her books and have faithfully been reading every one since her first book was published in 1994. So it would not at all be a stretch to say that I’m a humongous fan of her novels; reading one is like sitting down with family, albeit a loud, noisy Italian one at times, but you can’t help but just love her books, the characters, and feel like they are family and friends! Needless to say, I was thrilled to read Scottoline’s newest entry in the Rosato & DiNunzio series, Feared, and it didn’t disappoint at all!

The law firm of Rosato & DiNunzio is being sued for reverse sex discrimination with Mary’s nemesis Nick Machiavelli defending the three male plaintiffs. They are being sued as a firm and individually so if they lose, they lose everything. This time, it’s all on the line for Bennie, Mary, and Judy to win.

Although their law firm has always been made up of women until they recently hired John Foxman, they never set out to be an all-female law firm that discriminates against men. Yet, the case against them goes from bad to worse when a press conference they hold reveals John said things against the firm indicating he felt discriminated against. Then John resigns, which makes them look really bad and he’s later murdered, and Judy, who turns out to have been secretly his girlfriend, is the last one to see him alive.

While Bennie finds a lawyer to represent them and defeat Machiavelli, Mary is sure that there is more to the lawsuit than just the discrimination suit. After all, she knows Machiavelli since they grew up together in South Philly and she’s the one who defeated him in a lawsuit, which made them enemies. The more Mary starts figuring things out, she discovers she is right and there is more to the lawsuit than meets the eye.

I love Mary and in Feared, she is 7 months pregnant, so it was interesting to see a new side to her since she is a bit vulnerable while trying to balance impending motherhood and her career yet fiercely determined at all costs to defeat Machiavelli’s schemes and clear Judy’s name once she became a person of interest in John’s murder.

As always, Mary’s South Philly family and friends bring such humor to the novel. I love her Italian family and the “Tonys”! They bring such delight to the books and are loyal to a fault. The neighborhood adores their Mary and would do anything for her, which proves to be a vital turning point in the novel! The ending of the novel was full of suspense, twists that I never saw coming, and some shocking moments that had me holding my breath! Scottoline certainly knows how to keep you glued to the pages!!

Scottoline is, in my opinion, the master of the legal thriller genre, and Feared is Scottoline at her best. What makes her books really stand out is how Scottoline is not afraid to tackle some serious and emotionally charged subject matters, such as reverse sex discrimination, which she handles with great sensitivity, style, and always her own special brand of humor.

I highly recommend Feared if you love legal thrillers, mysteries, or books with great female characters or female friendships! The novel has satisfying, suspenseful twists, mystery, a cast of strong female characters, friendship, and family–and the ending is just so wonderful..it will put a smile on your face or in my case, a tear of joy in your eye as well! It can be read as a standalone, but I definitely recommend reading the first five books as well or any of Scottoline’s books because they are so good!

**Thank you Netgalley and St.Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.**

Wonderful review, Stephanie! I have not read this series! And I think the only Scottoline I’ve read now is the Rose’-Colored Glasses you tempted me to read! It sounds like I need to give this a try. I especially love the friendship aspects you highlighted. It makes it more than a mystery! Hope you’ve had a great Monday. ♥️

Thank you! This is a great series! I was reading her books in college lol. They are great female friends, and I love how she always captures that aspect. And her humor is in these books too! It’s great! I just love her! I have! I hope you have too! ❤

I really like her books to but I haven’t read a lot of the series. But I just finished “exposed” and “Feared” came in the mail today.
I enjoyed exposed and now I’m really looking forward to this one too.

That’s fantastic! I’m glad you have a copy. Exposed was really good and if you liked it, you definitely should like this one. There’s not as much action since Mary’s pregnant, but it gets very suspenseful and heartpounding toward the end! Thank you! ❤

Fab review Stephanie. I have only read one book by this author; it was a standalone but can’t recall the title. I do love a good thriller and this sounds perfect. I have never read anything on reverse gender discrimination so I am definitely curious about that. I will try and get this series.

Thanks Diana! I enjoy her standalone novels, but this series is my favorite. This is actually the 2nd series with this characters; it started out with her very 1st book as the series Rosato & Associates with 11 books before Mary was made partner, then she started this series. You can read this series without reading the 1st 11 books, but I always recommend starting at the beginning since there is a lot of backstory. But, again, you don’t have to. Let me know if you pick one up!